I bought a new bike:

A Schwinn Sierra 7. Dark blue. I haven't been biking in over 10 years. Now that I'm in Florida it'll be my second car .... until it's 95 degrees outside then screw that ...

Misc. Remembrance:

When I was 5, my favorite show was Batman. I loved the show so much, I secretly wanted my folks to install a bat pole in my second floor bedroom closet so I could slide down  from my bedroom into our basement. I never bothered to ask them, because deep down inside I knew it was a waste of time. I knew how inflexible and unreasonable they could sometimes be.

Random:

Before Kenny G. came on the scene, we had Chuck Mangione... and his one song that got any airtime on the radio... ..

Misc. Remembrance:

Back in the day, my cousin Mary used to collect Raggedy Andy dolls... not Ann, just Andy. She had one that was about 5 feet tall. I don't know if she still does, I haven't heard from her since the mid-'80s. I've lost touch with dad's side of the family. No hard feelings, just lost touch.

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas

Edaville Railroad:

Around this time in the early '70s, our folks would take us to Edaville Railroad in Carver Mass (I'm not sure if it's still there). I think the last time we were there was around '74. They had huge Christmas lights decorations, but what I remember most was the fact that it was freezing cold, and 5 minutes after we got there I was ready to go home. The top pic is a shot I got on a random image search. The bottom pic shows me and a couple of friends posing in the giant Santa (Laurie on the left, and Elaine on the right). I'm guessing the above was taken in '73, when we were all about 5 years old. We still keep in touch, they're like sisters to me.

Ever wonder what became of Helen Reddy???

1970:

Misc. Remembrance:

In '77, about a year after my folks split up, mom bought a new house. She gave me a key to the front door to let myself in when I got home from school. She stressed the importance of not losing the key, because then she'd have to take off work early to let me in. The next day I got off the school bus, walked up to the front door and reached into my pocket for the key. Only to find it wasn't in my pocket. I had lost my key. The first day. She was mad at me for three days.

Misc. Remembrance:

 

Sometime around '76, I told one of the kids in my neighborhood just before Christmas that "there was no Santa Claus". I guess he took it pretty hard, but then again I don't know who took it harder: the kid, or the kid's parents that I told him. Everyone tried to lay some huge guilt-trip on me. Who knows, maybe if I hadn't said anything, he'd still believe to this day...

Random fact:

I was never this popular.

 Poor Chrissie....

A very '69 Christmas:

The above was taken Christmas eve 1969, the day I turned 2. That's my cousin DeeDee and myself on the bicycle I got that year (I'm guessing for my birthday). The picture's dated "Mar 70", because my folks were always slow in getting our pictures developed at the local "Fotomat". I don't know who the adults are, but the one on the right kind of looks like my grandmother Dell. I haven't a clue who the guy is. In retrospect I can't believe how bad my folks' taste in home decorating was. That brown refrigerator is a whole new brand of ugly. When my folks sold that house, the woman who bought it pulled my mom aside and told her that the eagle wallpaper was the first to go. On a personal note, I would've had everything go, especially that nasty linoleum flooring.

Random:

 

I was listening to a replay of "American Top 40" with Casey Kasem, and the number one song for this week in 1978 was Le Freak by Chic. Number two was MacArthur Park by Donna Summer. I still love both of those songs.

Had it:

The above are a couple of pages from an old Brady Bunch coloring book. I had it back in the day. They were 35 cents back then, but I'm sure it would cost about 20 bucks on today's collectibles market. It's rare to find one of these with no coloring or writing in them, but then again nobody in those days thought of resale value. Who knew they'd be so valuable one day. On the right are Bobby and Cindy, and I'm guessing that's Jan and not Marcia because of the sideburn curls. Looks like the only one not having fun in the scene is Alice (although I can't blame her. Even on vacation they still make her work..).

Misc. Remembrance:

 

Whenever we'd go on vacation, my folks would always buy the cereal variety pack. I loved the variety packs, but the only thing that sucked about it was there were no premiums in the boxes, and quite frankly cereal with no premiums was kind of boring...

I remember an episode of "Welcome Back Kotter"...

... when Vinnie had to take a test that was crucial for graduation. If he didn't pass, he wouldn't graduate and he'd have to stay back another year (as I remember he failed it twice before). He crammed for the test and got a passing grade. A "C". Kotter praised him like it was a big deal, and Vinnie swaggered around the classroom like he was the smartest guy in school. Yes, he was really proud of that "C"...

Morning's always been my favorite time of day:

Veteran's Day 2012

To all our veterans everywhere, thank you. You're the best.

Election Day memory:

In the '76 election, on voting day, mom took me with her into the voting booth to show me the process of voting. I seem to recall that she voted for Ford. If I remember correctly, I was kind of bummed out bcause I was missing my favorite TV show. Plus, if I'd known at the time she was voting for the loser, I'd have found any excuse to stay home that night.

The L-Y Song:

Random:

When I was a kid, I didn't receive an allowance. However, there always seemed to be about 45 cents in spare change I could scrape together between the cushions of the sofa in our living room. I think candy bars were about 20 cents, so I'd have some spare change left over. My folks never seemed to ask me where I got the money, and I never told them. I figured if I did tell them, they'd be more careful about the change in their pockets and my money supply would run dry. It was definitely a "don't ask, don't tell" type of arrangement..

Random:

The above reminds me of a girl I knew back in the day. She was so unusually skinny that her mother couldn't find clothes that fit her in the store, so her mother used to knit her pants. And she used to come to school with her lunch in a zip-lock bag: two oreos and a nickel (milk was a nickel back in the day). To save her the embarrassment, I won't tell you her name ... although if I was the mean-spirited type, I'd tell you her name was Kathy.

One of my all-time faves:

Hand-held poker games:

Back in the day we had a couple of hand-held poker games, similar to the above. A couple of my friends' parents had them. They were quite popular. The above looks almost identical to the one we had. I got the above pic from an ebay listing, where I get quite a few pics for this site. The above is dated '71.

Back in the day I loved Fractured Fairy Tales:

I remember an episode of "Alice"....

... when Mel decided to institue a new policy in the diner. He gave all the waitresses smiley-faced pins, and if they didn't smile when waiting on a customer the meal was free if the customer called out "You didn't smile!". The plan was a disaster and at the end of the show Vera was waiting on a customer and Mel started chewing her out. She started to cry and so she ripped the pin off her lapel and slapped it into Mel's hand and basically told him what he could do with his new policy. The pin stuck Mel and he yelled in pain. The customer looked up and said "You didn't smile!".

So the '70s wasn't exactly the decade of political correctness..

Misc. Remembrance:

It was sometime around '72, and we were at my grandparents' house in Chatham. Mom was getting the upstairs guest room ready for the night, and while she was making the bed I was at the top of the stairs, and I was balancing myself on the top landing with my heels hanging over the edge and I wanted to see how far I could lean backwards without falling. I finally leaned back too far and I fell backwards down the stairs. I couldn't stop myself and I rolled like a tumbleweed all the way to the bottom. I was sore for 2 days. Haha.

Stuff I didn't have:

I had tons of stuff as a kid. There was very little that I asked for that I didn't get. My folks were very generous with me, but you can't have it all. One of those things was Stretch Armstrong. He was a rubbery figure that stretched to great lengths then shrunk back to normal size once you let go. Back when I was into eBay, I thought of purchasing one, but decided to pass. Quite frankly, if someone walked in the room and caught me playing with Stretch at 40 years old, I'd probably have alot of explaining to do..

I remember an episode of The Partridge Family...

.. when Keith was dating a feminist who belonged to the local chapter of the "Power Of Women" or "POW", and the Family was scheduled to sing "I Think I love You", but she didn't want them to perform the song because "it was degrading to women". I swear, some people can take the fun out of anything..

One of Fernwood 2 Night's funniest episodes:

If I have to I can do anything. I am strong, I'm invincible. I am woman:

I was just thinking about...

... Debralee Scott. I remember her mostly from the game shows back in the day, but she was also on several tv shows, most notably Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Welcome Back Kotter (maybe on that one she just made a guest appearance), and Angie as Angie's younger sister Doralee (at least I think that was her name). I'm not sure what she's doing now, but she had a pretty good television career back in the mid to late '70s. To this day I can still remember her voice. It wasn't annoying, there was just something about her voice that was unique.

On another note, the reason I haven't been posting is because my computer died, and I'm working with the local library's computers. I hope to get another computer soon and post on a more regular basis. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Alpha Bits cereal posters:

The above is circa '73. Had the guitar poster. I'd forgotten all about these until the other day. Back in the early '80s I was over a friend's house and he still had one posted on his bedroom wall. I was going to suggest that maybe it was time to take it down, but it really wasn't any of my business, so I kept it to myself...

Misc. Remembrance:

One day in '78, I was sitting at the counter and mom's purse was sitting there. Nobody was around, so I opened her purse and found her wallet. I noticed a 20 dollar bill so I took it and put it in my pocket. 1 hour later, I was overcome by guilt so I put it back, then told her about it the next day. That was the last time I ever stole anything. Even though I returned it, to this day I still feel guilty about it...

I miss Point Judith:

In the mid to late '70s, in the Summer we often went to Point Judith in Rhode Island for the day. I think it was closer than Cape Cod. We went to the above restaurant quite a few times. I'm not sure if it was "Champlins" back then. I believe their specialty was clam cakes, but I'm not really sure if that's what they were called. In '78 we spent a week in a rental cottage and had a great time. My father's aunt had a cottage in P.J., as well. Once in a while I think of going back there for a couple of days and hanging out, and seeing if it even remotely resembles what it was back then. It seemed really laid-back, but that was more than 34 years ago, and there aren't too many places that stay that way for that long.

Random fact:

In the '70s, McDonald's sold onion rings. I just found this out 5 minutes ago. I don't remember these at all. I guess I was too busy cramming handfulls of fries into my mouth at the time to notice..

That's one awesome suit Jimmy's wearing:

In the latter part of the decade, Kristy and Jimmy McNichol were featured on various talk shows singing. They were so cute together. Apparantly the Network Brass expected big things from Jimmy and Kristy. We all did. Well, except the guy in the background of this pic behind Kristy. Who appears to be laughing at them..

1977:

Had it. Although it really didn't live up to the hype, I have to say...

I have to confess: I don't always keep in touch with my family like I should..

A friend and I visited a woman we both knew in Wellfleet Massachusetts. While we were sitting in her living room, my friend was going through The Cape Cod Times and came across the obituary section. He looked up and said "Isn't your grandfather's name Arnold W****?" I said "Yeah he lives in South Yarmouth". My friend replied: "His funeral's tomorrow..."

Misc. Remembrance:

In the mid-'70s, my cousin Karen used to raise guinea pigs. In '75, one of her females had a litter of pups (I don't know what you call a baby guinea pig) so she gave me one. She told me she had to keep it for a little while until it was a few weeks old, then I could have it. The second day I went to her house to see my new pet, and she told me that while she was cleaning out the cage her cat got a hold of my guinea pig and ate it. The second day. That damn cat had to eat my guinea pig and left Karen's alone. I didn't even get to name it. I was devastated, but then again I knew deep down that mom would never allow me to bring it home. She never did like those things.

Sneaker Roller Skates:

In 1978, I had a pair of sneaker roller skates. In fact, I had the above models: blue satin sides, blue suede toe and heal, 4 white stripes on each side, yellow wheels and stopper, and yellow laces. I practiced roller skating in dad's basement. I was able to turn around as I skated so I was skating backward, but for some reason wasn't able to turn back around so once I started skating backward I had to stay backward until I stopped. I remember the roller skating rinks wouldn't allow you to wear these in their facilities; they said it ruined the surface of the rink, but really it was so that you'd have to rent theirs. I haven't roller skated since around '83, and the older I get the less likely it is that I'll start again. I loved roller skating as a kid.

Not quite what I was looking for, but it'll do:

I was doing a Google image search for "'70s Pixy Stix" and found the above ad from '64. I don't really remember "Lick 'M Aid", but I was addicted to Pixy Stix (especially the giant ones that were, like, 3 feet long. When you're only about 4 feet tall, they seem really huge). My folks didn't get them often for me, since by the time I finished one I was off-the-wall-hyper for the rest of the day, because basically Pixy Stix was like speed for kids. Or crack. I would've posted a pic of an actual Pixy Stix, but none from the '70s showed up. All I could find were pics of the newer ones. Once when I was about 5, I got on mom's bad side and she threw my Pixy Stix out the car window before I could eat it, and I got grounded for the rest of the day. I'm not sure what I did to deserve that, but mom was pretty easy going so I'm sure it was pretty bad..

Misc. Remembrance:

In the early '70s, when my grandmother used to take me to the beach, she'd give me some change and have me go to the concession stand and get us each a frozen Milky Way bar. Do you have any idea how impossible it is to eat a frozen Milky Way bar? It was like trying to gnaw my way through a block of wood. It took me 15 minutes to not even get through half of it, and by then I'd give up and bury the other half in the sand while she wasn't looking.

Stuff I didn't have:

As far as I can recall, Inchworm came out around '76. I didn't have an Inchworm, but my cousins did. I tried it once, but it was never really my thing; I was into my 1974 Huffy Pro Thunder bicycle. Apparantly, it wasn't really their thing either because it ended up in their barn in a pile with all the other stuff they had that they didn't use. Still, I think it was a pretty popular toy back in the day. Alot of kids had them. When I was doing the image search for the above pics, I noticed that Inchworm was re-issued. I wonder if it ever caught on with today's kids the way it did back in the day.

You probably think this song is about you. Don't you.

"Well you had me several years ago when I was still quite naive; when you said that we'd make such a pretty pair and that you would never leave. Well you gave away the things you loved, and one of them was me. I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee."

Much speculation's been given as to whom Carly is actually singing about in her song "You're So Vain". I believe she said that it's a real person, but she also said in an interview that "If you think you know, you don't". I've often wondered if Carly's actually singing about herself; especially in the above verse. It seems to suggest that fame and success changed her and made her into someone whom she swore that she never would become, and didn't recognize anymore. And when she says "You probably think this song is about you" is her subconsciously talking to herself. Alas, we may never know, as Carly's probably never going to tell us, but it's just my theory.

1970 Pebbles and Bamm Bamm sip.along cups:

Had the Pebbles one, because I liked her yellow shirt with black triangles (plus, Bamm Bamm having white hair kind of freaked me out back then. White hair seems a little unnatural for an infant). I don't believe it was 1970 though, because I was only 2 years old then, and who really remembers anything when they were 2.... but it might've been '72. Basically, when you drank from the cup, somehow the beverage got sucked up Pebbles' and Bamm Bamm's straws at the same time, like you were drinking together, which totally makes sense because who really likes to drink alone...

1978 Cheryl Tiegs poster:

These came out a couple of years after the famous Farrah Fawcett poster, but wasn't quite as popular or iconic as Farrah's. Still they sold hundreds of thousands. Alot of boys had Cheryl tacked on to their walls (or on their celings over their beds...). I remember back in the day looking at the poster and thinking what a long body she had, like an otter's. Cheryl's aged pretty well, I saw a pic of her on the internet recently and she still looks good.

Random fact:

In 1975 I ate a Milk-Bone dog biscuit... okay, so I ate two..

Do you like the things that life is showing you?

Never cared for the movie, but to this day I still love that song.

So how many of you had...

... a Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture kit?? Nobody I knew had this one. I don't remember the exact date, but I'm pretty sure it was mid-'70s. I was going to ask for a set back in the day, but it all seemed a little weird; plus, I heard that the smell was unbearable so I knew that my folks would say no (and, quite frankly, I couldn't think of anything you could do with them.. how on earth do you play with a shrunken head?). Between you and I, I have to say the pic of Vincent Price playing with his shrunken heads is a bit on the disturbing side.. he looks a little old for that.

Random Fact:

I hate spiders.

Trix cereal scratch 'n sniff premium stickers:

These came out in '76. They were about 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide. I didn't have the above, instead I had the strawberry ice cream soda sticker. It smelled so good, I was on a strawberry ice cream soda kick for a year. I think there were about 6 different stickers. I loved scratch 'n sniff stuff when I was a kid.

Random:

Today I drove to the nearby town of Saranac Lake, NY, with a buddy of mine. Since we were on the road we decided to go to McDonald's for lunch. I ordered a Quarter Pounder with cheese, no onions (even though I'd specified no onions, and even though it was printed on the receipt as having no onions, I still got onions; nobody ever listens to me). If this had been 1974, it would've come in the above carton. I know this is a totally lame post, but whatever....

Air Hockey:

Sometime around '74 we got a set, which ironically is the year the above was taken (for the record I have no idea who that is. It's not my pic, I found it in a random image search, but it was dated). A childhood friend also got one that same year. These always ended up in people's basements, which I guess would be natural because they just don't seem to belong in a living room. We never really played it much because I hated it; I didn't like the game because I always lost - I really sucked at air hockey.

Memorial Day 2012:

Freedom is never free.

A tv classic:

Above is from the very last episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Mary decided to end the show while it was still doing well in the ratings; however, the show's premise was beginning to get a little out-dated, and a woman making it on her own was less of a novelty than it was in 1970 when the show first aired, and women's lib wasn't quite as cosmopolitan. I think Mary's timing was pretty good, the show couldn't have stayed on top forever. Even today the show holds up pretty well. For sitcoms it was truly a masterpiece. There will never be another like it. It will always be one of my all-time faves. I really miss these guys.